What is UMPC?
Ultra Mobile PC is a futuristic,ultra portable PC which is expected to take over laptops and desktop computers soon. The ambitious project is jointly developed by Microsoft,Samsung and Intel.The UMPC can run Windows Tablet PC edition,Vista Home Premium or Linux.
What’s so special about UMPC?
A 7-inch touch screen with a minimum resolution of 800 x 480 with 900 Mhz processor ad 256 to 1 GB of RAM and 30 to 160 GB HDDs.Also features like Wi-Fi,Bluetooth and Ethernet,GPS,fingerprint reader,stereo speakers,TV tuners and memory card readers.
Are we there yet?
Well Samsung,Nokia,Acer have already launched different models of UMPCs.
In spite of the models launched by big companies the UMPC is not hitting the market as expected.Here are the reasons
1)Battery Life
The battery life of UMPCs is close to around 7 hours which is nothing as compared to cell phones and laptops.Also the daily usage of the average user is more than 7 hours.
2)Graphics
The user needs television,video and games to be portable but the graphic quality in UMPCs is lower than expected.
3)Connectivity
Wireless networking is very expensive.3G et al are still to take full advantage of the networking market.
Verdict
It will take another 2-3 years till UMPCs start taking a significant share in the market.So just hold on to your laptops and wait till they come up with a better battery.
Notable Products
Samsung Q2 Ultra
Features
7-inch Touchscreen
690 grams 228mm by 124mm by 24 mm ( 16 mm smaller than older Q1 )
1024 x 600 with AERO support
800MHz Intel cpu
60gb hdd
1 GB RAM
Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi (802.11b/g)
and many more
Check out some more devices link
image source:Endgadget.com,Wikipedia
